


Hope?

by asamandra



Series: When darkness surrounds us [3]
Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Forced to fight, M/M, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Slave Trade, Steve gets an interesting call, not a happy ending in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-02-28 07:28:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asamandra/pseuds/asamandra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve gets an interesting call and he and Natasha fly to Chicago</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Captain Rogers,” JARVIS addressed Steve quietly. Steve looked up at the ceiling and scolded himself the next second inwardly for doing it. Again. 

“Yes, JARVIS?” he asked and laid his paintbrush away. He stretched his arms over his head for a second.

“I have a Detective Kevin Malloy from the Chicago PD on the line. He wants to talk to Mr. Stark but I'm not sure that he's up to talk to him. He has indicated that it is about Agent Barton.” The AI explained. Steve sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Okay, put him through.” Steve rose from his stool and stretched again. He had painted the whole forenoon and his back ached. He actually felt like a ninety-five years old man at the moment.

“Hello?” A dark voice came over the speakers in the ceiling and Steve had to concentrate to not look up again.

“Detective Malloy? This is Steve Rogers speaking,” he said.

“Oh... uhm... I need to talk to Mr. Stark, sir. It's about... it's about Hawkeye,” the man said and Steve sighed. Tony was currently in his house in Miami. Pepper and the team had sent him there to get out of this tower.

“Mr. Stark is currently not available. Can I help you?” Steve asked and the Detective was quiet for a few seconds. 

“Like I said before, it's about Hawkeye. It's quite possible that he didn't die two years ago, sir.” He finally said. 

Steve stared bewildered at the ceiling.

“What?” He blurted out after a long moment of processing what the man had said.

“It's complicated. I don't think I can explain it on the phone. And there are things... Do you think it's possible that Mr. Stark can come to Chicago? There are a few things we need to show him.” 

“No, I will come,” he said. “I... Mr. Stark is not available,” he repeated then.

“Okay...” the man was quiet for another few seconds. “And when can I expect you?” 

“Wait a second. JARVIS, can you call SHIELD, I need a quinjet asap. It's important. And call Nat, I think she wants to come along. Detective?” 

“Yes?” 

“We'll come as soon as possible.” 

“Okay. Call me, when you're here,” Detective Malloy said and the line went dead. 

“JARVIS?” Steve asked and the AI answered immediately.

“Director Fury said a quinjet is already on it's way to Stark Tower. And Agent Romanov is on her way to the landing platform.” 

“Thanks.” 

Steve went to get his jacket before he went up to the landing platform as well.

“JARVIS...” he started but the AI interrupted him.

“I know, sir. I won't tell him,” he said.

“Thanks,” Steve smiled and put on his jacket.


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha was unusual quiet. She had changed since Clint's death but her behavior right now was even more worrying. When they entered the precinct she touched Steve's hand for a moment and he took it, squeezed it and smiled at her. She nodded thankfully but didn't smile back. Steve knew that she still missed her best friend. So much for _love is for children_.

Detective Kevin Malloy waited for them. Steve had called him as soon as they have landed. Malloy was in his late forties with thinning hairline and glasses and he seemed nervous. The man had a file in his hand.

“Captain Rogers,” he greeted him with a short smile. 

“Detective Malloy, this is Agent Romanov,” he introduced Natasha. The two shook hands.

“If you two want to follow me, please,” he gestured at the elevator and they followed him to an empty room with a large table in the middle. A few boxes stood in one corner and a large whiteboard was on one wall. He closed the door behind them, pointed at the chairs and sat down himself. He put the file onto the table in front of him. 

“So, why are we here?” Natasha asked and Detective Malloy took a deep breath. 

“I'm a homicide detective,” Malloy started and when both nodded he continued. “Three years ago I got this strange case. We found the body of a man with a bullet in his brain. He had abrasions around his wrists, his neck and ankles and scars, welts and open wounds of lashes on his body, mostly his back, lots of broken bones in different states of healing and tearing in his anal region. The wounds on his body were of different ages, some scars were years old.” He opened the file and handed them two photos. They were cruel. Steve had seen lots of shit in his life but this was definitely in the top ten. “Dr. Jackson said, the man was probably held captive for years, was forced to fight and got raped on a regular basis.”

“That's really interesting, but why do you tell us all this?” Natasha asked and shifted on her chair.

“Give me a minute, please,” Malloy said. And when Steve nodded he continued.

“We investigated the case and found out the man's name. Roy Johnson. He got arrested once for driving under influence when he was nineteen. But the interesting thing was, that Roy Johnson died five years earlier. We called his twin sister and his daughter, they identified him. It _was_ Johnson.” 

“How's that possible?” Steve asked, his brows furrowed and Detective Malloy shook his head.

“That was what we tried to find out. Fact is, Roy Johnson died and five years after his assumed death we found his recently shot body.” 

Natasha looked at Steve, her brows furrowed but she kept quiet and let Malloy continue.

“Nearly a year later my brother-in-law – he works for the FBI – talked to another detective and he told him the strangest case he had had was a shot man who officially died years ago. Lloyd remembered my case and asked Detective Walker for the file. This guy had the same injuries. Torture marks, chafed limbs, broken bones... and raped.” 

“Okay, and...” Natasha started again but Steve stopped her with a hand gesture.

“Long story short, we investigated this case, we found a few more bodies, we discovered a pattern and it took us more than a year but then we found a... well... they called it _Fight Club_.”

“Fight Club?” Steve frowned and Detective Malloy sighed.

“Yes. It was horrible. There was this old, abandoned factory. We managed to plant an undercover police officer in their _organization_. These guys forced men to fight against each other and the winner had to fuck the loser.”

“Bozhe moy ,” Natasha swallowed. And that fact made Steve nervous as hell.

“We busted them but when we got in we realized that someone tipped them off,” Malloy said and handed them more photos. Steve saw a fighting arena surrounded by seats. The fighting ring was in a solid looking cage. On another photo Steve saw small cells with chains on the wall. A poor excuse for a mattress lay on the ground but no blankets or cushions. The prisoners had a bucket to relieve themselves in one corner. He swallowed again. 

“They had fifty of those cells. I have no idea how they managed to build them without anyone noticing.” He handed them more photos. A shower area with rings in the walls to chain the prisoners, rooms with comfortable beds, also with rings in the wall. Apparently they rented out their fighters, too.

“When we busted them they tried to get away their prisoners. We could save six of them. Unfortunately we had to shoot their guards. Suicide by cop,” Malloy continued and handed him the photos of six men. Steve put his hand over his mouth and he could hear Natasha grind her teeth. “These men we found... they were considered dead. Every single one of them. And they all were there for years.” 

“So... you think that maybe Clint is alive and their prisoner?” Natasha asked and put both her hands onto the table.

“They had a storage where they kept their _trophies_.” He rose and went to the boxes, searched for one of them and brought it to his chair. He put the box onto the table and opened it. “We found this in there.” He took two items out of the box and placed it on the table and both, Steve and Natasha, paled. 

“Bozhe moy,” Natasha murmured. In all his time since the two were together he had never seen her so upset. The items Detective Malloy had placed onto the table were Clint's tac vest and his quiver. He had both items with him when the quinjet exploded. And both were supposed to be destroyed.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve sat in the conference room in Stark Tower, Natasha beside him and both waited for the rest of their teammates and friends to arrive. Thor, Jane, Bruce and Pepper were already here and right now Kate, Fury and Colonel Rhodes came in. They looked at Steve but he just stared at the two boxes on the table in front of him. 

When the three sat down and looked curiously at the other people around the table Steve finally rose.

“Thanks for coming,” he said and licked his lips. He was sure that he couldn't hide his emotions and if he was honest, he didn't want to. 

“Shouldn't Tony be here?” Rhodes asked and Steve looked over to Natasha. 

“We've thought about it but... no, it's better when we do this without him.” 

Rhodes and Pepper shared worried glances but then Bruce asked, “What is this all about, Steve? You've only said it's about Clint.” 

“Yes, that's right.” Once again he stared at the boxes on the table and licked his lips. When Natasha nodded encouraging he took a deep breath.

“Yesterday I've got a call from Detective Kevin Malloy from Chicago PD...” 

He told them everything what Malloy had said before he opened the boxes and put both, the quiver and the vest, out onto the table.

“Oh my god,” Pepper covered her mouth with her hand.

“Is this true?” Thor asked and Steve nodded. “Our friend is alive?” 

“We don't know. But they had his quiver and his vest. I have no idea how they managed to get him but at least we know that they had him,” Natasha said. 

“But that's a good question. I mean, he was in the quinjet, right? He piloted it. How could he get out? Or better, how could someone get in and get Clint out?” Kate asked now.

“And how could someone manage to get _Clint_ out? He's not an easy target.” Pepper added.

“You might well ask!” Steve sighed, raised both shoulders and shook his head. “I have no idea. We all know that Clint was alone in the quinjet and in mid-air. He didn't bale out, he fired at the drones and suddenly the jet exploded.” 

“Maybe we missed something,” Bruce said and Fury shoved a USB flash drive over to Natasha. She rose, went to the holographic screen and started it. They all saw the surveillance video from the helicarrier that was in the air over them. 

“Tony has analyzed this video frame by frame, Director. More than once,” Pepper said. Natasha stopped it a split second before the jet blew up. There wasn't anything close enough to the quinjet to get in or to get Clint out. They all looked very close but no one could see anything. 

“JARVIS, can you help with the picture?” Steve asked and the AI enlarged the section with the quinjet and sharpened it but it was still nearly impossible to perceive details.

“He looks back,” Thor said, his brows furrowed and all of them stared at the picture. 

“What?” Natasha blurted out, rose and went close to the screen. “I can't see anything,” she said.

“My eyes may not be as sharp as Clint's but I am pretty sure that he looks over his shoulder.” Thor pointed at something on the screen. 

“Sir, Mr. Stark had already seen that,” JARVIS chipped in. Another picture appeared beside this one and it was more edited than the one they had just looked at. And now all of them could see that Clint's head was turned but they couldn't see what he was looking at.

“JARVIS, did Tony have an idea why he turned around?” Jane asked and the AI was quiet for a short moment. 

“He thought...” JARVIS stopped for a second, “he thought it could possibly be Loki. Magic, you know,” the AI said.

“No. Loki is imprisoned in Asgard. He can not leave. If it was magic then it was someone else,” Thor stated. 

“Do you know someone else with the ability to wield magic?” Rhodes asked and Fury nodded.

“Dr. Strange. But I'm pretty sure he wouldn't kidnap people to force them to fight,” he said.

“Maybe...” Natasha started, stopped and bit her lip. When Steve, Fury and Bruce gestured for her to continue she licked her lips. “There are mutants... I mean... someone like Nightcrawler.” 

“I don't think Nightcrawler would kidnap people either,” Steve said. He had met him a few times and even if he was a little strange he was a good man. 

“I can call Professor Xavier if he knows someone with such abilities,” Fury said and Steve nodded thankfully.

“I'll call Stephen,” Natasha added then. 

“Don't you think we should tell Tony?” Thor asked but Steve shook his head.

“No. I've thought about it but... what if he's not alive anymore? What if they already put a bullet in his brain? He would get his hopes up and it would kill him if we'd find out that he's dead.” 

“Steve is right. We can't tell him. Not yet,” Pepper agreed and one by one started to nod.

“What can we do?” Bruce asked and looked at Steve.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had no idea if he was honest to himself but he also knew that he had to do something. He owed it to Clint.

“We? We do everything that's necessary to find out what really happened to Clint.”


	4. Chapter 4

Bruce accompanied Steve when he flew back to Chicago. Detective Malloy awaited them once again in the lobby of the precinct.

“Thanks for calling us,” Steve smiled when he shook Malloy's hand. “This is Dr. Bruce Banner,” he introduced Bruce and Malloy nodded and shook his hand as well.

“Thanks for coming,” he gestured again at the elevator and Steve and Bruce followed him but this time they rode to a different floor. 

“I've called you to talk to one of the rescued prisoners,” Malloy said. “He calls himself Swan. We asked for his name but that was the only name he gave us. We're still trying to find out his real name.” Steve furrowed his brows when he heard the _name_.

Malloy led them to a door, an office, and Steve and Bruce saw a man sitting on a couch. He was in a really bad condition. He wore a shirt and soft sweatpants and they could see bandages everywhere on his body. Swan was mid thirties with black hair and a long scar on his left cheek. Another man sat on a chair beside the desk. He was late forties, tall, thin, blond and had an ugly mustache and he rose as soon as they entered.

“This is my partner, Peter Ekstroem,” Malloy introduced the man. “And this is Swan,” he gestured at the man on the couch and looked up as soon as he heard his name.

“Swan?” Bruce said, his voice as calm and unthreateningly as possible. He hunkered down in front of him The man looked unsure from Bruce to Steve to Malloy to his partner and back to Bruce. 

“Who are you?” He asked quietly but Steve could hear his voice shake and he saw him tremble slightly.

“This is Dr. Banner, Swan,” Ekstroem said and the man looked at Bruce. 

“Call me Bruce,” he said and smiled reassuringly.

“Are you the friends of Hawk?” He whispered and Steve swallowed. 

“Hawk?” Bruce asked and the man nodded.

“The man from the picture,” he said and Malloy leaned over to Steve.

“We showed them pictures of men died in accidents. They could identify a few of them. We also showed them pictures of Hawkeye and he recognized him,” he whispered in his ear. Steve's head snapped around and he stared at Malloy.

“Seriously?” He asked but then Bruce turned around and glared in their direction. Steve raised his hands in surrender and kept quiet. When Ekstroem handed Bruce a picture he showed it to the man and he nodded again.

“That's Hawk. I've fought against him a few times,” he whispered, his voice scratchy as if he hadn't used it very often lately. 

“Swan, do you, by chance, know what happened to him?” Bruce asked carefully and the man half nodded, half shrugged. 

“They took him away. I don't know where,” he shook his head.

“Can you tell us who held you captive?” Bruce asked. Swan licked his lips nervously and Bruce carefully placed his hand on Swan's wrist. “Don't worry, they can't do anything to you.” 

“You can't guarantee that,” Swan whispered and looked around. Steve made a step in his direction and when he shrank back he hunkered down beside Bruce.

“Yes, we can. You're safe,” he said and Swan shook his head again, violently.

“Master can go everywhere!” The man said. Bruce and Steve exchanged a glance and then Bruce licked his lips. 

“Can you explain that?” He asked and Swan shook his head. “Please, Swan. We want to help you but we need to understand.” 

“When...” he started slowly, stopped and looked around. Bruce patted his leg encouragingly. “When they got me... I was in my truck... and...” Swan shook his head once more and tried to get up. But Bruce held him, gently, on the couch. 

“Shh, everything is okay,” he said and after a few minutes he calmed down. 

“He appeared out of thin air, grinned, grabbed my arm and... and then... there was darkness and... I got nauseous and then I lost consciousness,” he finally finished. The man trembled and grabbed Bruce's hands. “Please, don't let them get me,” he pleaded suddenly.

“We don't let him get you, I promise,” Steve said and rose. He gestured at the door with his head and Malloy understood and followed him out and into the corridor. 

“I'll call SHIELD, Detective Malloy. We take them with us,” Steve told him. When Malloy opened his mouth to complain Steve continued. “We can keep them safe, Detective. SHIELD has resources.” 

The door opened and Bruce came out as well. “Three years, four months,” he said. Steve's brows snapped up. “They had him more than three years, Steve.” 

“Oh my god,” he murmured and shook his head. “That's so awful. Did he tell you anything else?” 

“No, just that this _Master_ ,” it sounded like something disgusting, “grabbed him and took him away. They showed him pictures from his own funeral. He said there were three men they had to call Master and the others were just guards.” 

“Clint?” 

“He fought against him. Sometimes he won, sometimes he lost,” Bruce said and Steve knew what had happened afterwards. 

“This is... this is so irreal,” he sighed and Bruce nodded.

“Let's bring these men to New York. I'm sure Fury knows someone who can help them.” 

“Right. Detective Malloy?” Bruce turned to the waiting man and he slowly nodded.

“Okay. I'll get the paperwork,” he smiled and left them.

“He was alive, Steve. When they took these men away Clint was alive. He's alive!” Bruce couldn't hold back. 

“I know. Now we just need to find him.”


	5. Chapter 5

“They are mutants,” Fury said as soon as he entered the conference room again. Once more Steve had called all of them to talk about their options.

“How do you know?” Bruce asked and sat up, unfolded his arms and placed them onto the table.

“Charles Xavier told me.” He took the nearest chair and sat down. “Everything the rescued men told us was helpful. He could identify them. Their names are Lance Alvarez, called Brick, David Rice, called Jumper, and Thomas Conrad, called Timelock. Rice and Conrad kidnapped the fighters while Alvarez rebuilt the factory with their abilities.” 

“They said there were guards,” Jane said. “They needed to pay them, right?” 

“That's true. But I'm pretty sure that they earned enough money with the fights. And the police found bedrooms in the factory. It seems as if they rented their fighters out as well.” 

“Yeah, yeah, that's all well and good, but they had to have money to start their business,” Jane added. “And I'm pretty sure they couldn't go to the nearest bank and ask for a credit.” 

“So, you think someone funded them?” Rhodes asked, his eyes squinted.

“Who would do something like this?” Thor shook his head.

“Human greed,” Rhodes muttered under his breath and the Asgardian furrowed his brows.

“The factory... it's abandoned, right?” Bruce asked and when Steve nodded he continued, “Do we know the previous owner?” 

“Not yet,” Fury said and took his phone. He started to write a message.

“You think the former owner is the financier?” Natasha asked.

“No... yes... I don't know. But it would be a start,” Bruce shrugged.

Jane took her StarkPad and started to type and a few seconds later she grinned and looked up. “The factory is still owned by Stirling Parquette.” 

“Okay, and who is that?” Steve asked. 

“Parquette Pharmaceuticals. They produce drugs,” Jane said. “But I don't think that Parquette himself is involved.” 

“Why?” Rhodes asked and Jane sighed. 

“I've met him a few years ago. The man is vegan, I can't believe he would send someone to kidnap people to fight against each other.” 

“Adolf Hitler was vegetarian,” Steve mentioned.

“Okay, we'll check him,” Fury snapped. 

“What do we do about the mutants?” Bruce asked and Fury nodded.

“Charles said the X-Men will take care of them.” 

“Why don't the Avengers...” Pepper asked but stopped herself when Fury shook his head.

“Because of their abilities. Timelock can slow down the time and we wouldn't be able to act and Jumper is like Nightcrawler, he can, well, jump to wherever he wants to be.”

“What about the third one? Brick?” Rhodes asked.

“Apparently he can command stones,” Fury said.

“So... that's how they worked. Alvarez rebuilt the factory and the other two, Rice and Conrad, kidnapped the fighters,” Steve summarized. “But that still doesn't explain why they did it and how they could pay their _guards_ , how they invited their audience and...” 

“It's beyond debate that they had someone who gave them money to start their _little business_ ,” they heard a voice no one expected. Tony stood in the doorway, his arms folded in front of his chest and glared angrily at Steve. 

“Tony?” Pepper gasped and the teammembers, who sat with their backs to him, turned around. 

“So, when did you plan to invite me to your party?” He asked and pursed his lips. 

“How...” Rhodes started but Tony cut him short. He walked into the conference room and placed both hands on the table.

“Do you really think you can conspire in _my_ fucking building without me noticing?” He spat and now he glared at the Colonel. 

“Tony, you have to understand...” Rhodes said but again Tony interrupted him.

“The odds are that Clint is still alive and you all thought I didn't need to know?” He asked, his voice raised and little drops of spit left his mouth while yelling at all of them. 

“Please, Tony. It was my idea and...” Steve rose and went over to the furious genius. He wanted to place a hand on his arm to calm him down but Tony shrugged it off.

“Don't touch me, fucking liar!” He glared at Steve but then his wrath turned to the rest of the people around the table. “And you? You all knew and no one...” His tirade got interrupted by Fury's phone. Tony glared at him when he took the call.

“Yes?... Ok... Thanks,” was all Fury said when he quit the call. He looked at Steve and then at Tony.

“That was Charles Xavier. His X-Men have Rice, Conrad and Alvarez.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Let me in, for fuck's sake! I need to talk to them!” Tony yelled at Scott Summers when Steve and Thor arrived. Thor was the only one who could keep up with Tony's speed and so he had grabbed Steve and they followed Tony. 

He and Summers stood in front of the gate to Xavier's school and Summers shook his head vehemently. 

“No. I won't let you in as long as you're so enraged.” 

“They know where Clint is! They know if he... if he's alive,” Tony's voice was almost pleadingly but Summers once again shook his head. Steve and Thor walked over to the two and in the distance he could see Logan hang around and watching them. 

“You let me in immediately or...” Tony tried to pass Summers but he was prepared and blocked him. Logan straightened in the background.

“Tony, calm down,” Steve said when was close enough. 

“I won't talk to you,” Tony spat but he didn't even bother to turn around. “Come on, Summers. The Professor said that you have these guys and...” 

“Stark, for fuck's sake. I've told you, I can't let you talk to them. They won't tell you anything but Jean is already with them,” Summers explained and then his head turned to Steve. “Captain Rogers,” he nodded and Steve smiled.

“Thanks for your help,” he said and Tony finally turned around, violently, and glared at Steve.

“So, are we done with the exchange of niceties? In there are the three guys that kidnapped Clint and they know what happened to him and I want,” he turned back to Summers, “no, I demand that you let me talk to them!” 

Summers looked back at the Mansion, his head cocked a tiny bit, and then he nodded at the three of them. “The Professor said you can come in,” he sighed and opened the gate. Tony wanted to walk up to the main entrance immediately but Summers held him back.

“No,” he shook his head and when Tony's expression darkened he pointed in another direction. “That way, gentlemen,” he said, his voice slightly mocking. 

This time, when Tony wanted to hurry in said direction it was Thor who held him back. When the genius glared at him the Asgardian only shook his head.

“You have to stay calm, Tony, if you want to help Clint. Your rage is of little help. The X-Men want to help us, they want to help you and Clint. So, calm down now,” he said and placed a hand on Tony's armor-clad shoulder. And when Tony opened his mouth to complain Thor just raised one finger and repeated, “Calm down.”

“Okay,” Tony muttered after a long moment of glaring but eventually he looked away and Thor sighed and nodded at Summers to lead them to their destination.

They went to one of the adjoining buildings with a code lock. Summers punched in some code and the door opened. He led them to an elevator and they rode down into the basement. The whole corridor was white tiled and had a few doors.

“Is that your version of a dungeon?” Tony muttered and Summers smirked. 

“No, this is where we work, far away from our students,” he said and pointed at a door in the right wall. He opened it and led them in. 

The room was also white tiled and divided by a glass wall. Behind the wall was Jean Grey with three men, tied to chairs. All three men wore some sort of metal collar with blinking lights and they glared furiously at Jean from time to time. 

Summers opened the glass wall and let them in. 

“Steve, Stark, Thor,” she greeted them and then turned to the prisoners. “They are ready to talk,” she smiled and the first one – a black haired, Latin-American guy – pressed his lips tight together while the second one – a tall blonde – glared angrily at Tony. The third guy – a pale red-head – closed his eyes and ignored them. “Ask your questions,” Jean added, her arms folded in front of her chest. 

“Where's Clint,” was Tony's first question and no one would have expected anything else. 

“Who's Clint?” The blonde asked but then Jean turned her eyes to him and he winced. “Hawk! You mean Hawk,” he gasped and the other two men swallowed nervously. 

“We shot him,” the red-haired guy pressed through his teeth.

“That's not true, Thomas,” Jean said casually and the red-haired guy writhed in his ties, shook his head vehemently. “Come on, tell them the truth,” Jean added and the man shook his head again. 

“No, we...” he seemed to struggle against something invisible, “we... shot... him,” he repeated and then he struggled again. The other two men watched him in his misery but both didn't talk. They pressed their lips together to not talk by accident. 

“Lance, do you want to tell them what happened to Clint?” Jean asked calm and looked at the black-haired man. 

“No,” he shook his head as well and looked nervously from Jean to Tony, Steve, Thor and Summers and back. But then he arched his back. Steve frowned but Summers touched his arm and he turned to him.

“It can be unpleasant when she searches through one's memories,” he explained. “Especially when they try to resist.” Steve and Thor exchanged glances but Tony had only eyes for the prisoners and Jean. 

“What about you, David? Do you want to tell us what you did to Hawk?” David pressed his lips together and shook his head like his accomplices. “David?” Jean repeated and the blonde winced in his chair. But then he started to talk.

“We sh... we sho.... we...” he wriggled against whatever Jean did to him, “we... sold... him.” 

“What?” Tony blurted out and Jean turned to him now. 

*I'll ask them,* they all _heard_ in their heads. 

“Tell us,” Jean said aloud and David threw his head back and groaned before he continued. 

“We... we couldn't take... all of them... with us,” he pressed through his teeth and the black-haired guy cursed in Spanish, told him to shut up. But then the red-head started to talk.

“We wanted to... start new with... a few of them... somewhere else,” he said. “We... sold the rest,” he writhed in his chair.

“Who has Clint?” Tony asked now and it was the blonde who answered. 

“We don't know,” he hissed. “We sold all of them to a trader.” 

Tony paled, muttered 'Bastards' and tried to get past Steve and to the door. But both, Steve and Thor, grabbed his arms and held him. 

“The trader's name?” They all heard Jean snarl and Steve had to admit that he was a little bit surprised about her tone of voice.

“Cooper. Richard Cooper,” the black-haired man answered.

“You have what you need?” Summers asked and Steve looked at Tony. He nodded, turned and went to the door.

“Thank you for your help,” Steve said and then he and Thor followed Tony. They had a new lead.


	7. Chapter 7

Tony was exhausted, Steve could see that as clear as day. He had worked for hours to find out everything about Richard Cooper. But whenever someone had tried to get him to take a break he had snapped at everyone. Whatever he had said, when Jane left his lab she tried to hide the tears in her eyes. And now Steve was here to talk to him. Enough is enough!

He knocked at the glass door but Tony didn't turn around. But the door opened. Apparently it was JARVIS who let him in. He also tuned down the blaring music. Still Guns N'Roses. 

“JARVIS, what the fuck...” Tony started but then he sighed and turned around. “Oh, you...” 

“Tony...” 

“I know, I know. Take a break, Tony. Don't yell at people, Tony. You know what? Fuck you,” he turned back to his computer. “And leave my lab.” 

“No, I won't leave. I'm sorry for not telling you but you can't pan everyone for _my_ mistake.” Steve slammed his hand down beside Tony and the genius finally turned back and looked at him. 

“I've told them to keep quiet about it and if you want to yell at someone then yell at me. The others only want to help you, for crying out loud!” 

“Yeah, it is so helpful to not know that the love of your life isn't dead,” Tony spat, his voice full of venom. “Do you know how often I had this fucking gun in my hand...” he stopped and pressed a hand over his mouth.

“Oh my god, Tony. I had no idea...” Steve tried to touch Tony's shoulder but he moved his body out of the way. 

“Don't.” He glared at him and Steve raised both hands to show him that he wouldn't try to touch him again. 

“I had no idea, Tony. If I...” 

“No, don't,” he said again and shook his head. 

“We didn't know if he was alive and we're not entirely sure now, Tony. That's why I've decided to not tell you. I knew that it would hurt you to keep you in the dark about it but I know it will destroy you if we find out that he's really dead.” He shoved one of the chairs in the lab beside Tony's and sat down. “We care about you and the moment we would've known that he's alive I would've called you, believe me.” 

Tony looked at him for a very long moment. 

“Yell at me if you need to yell at someone but let the team, let us help. We want Clint back as well,” Steve added. 

“No. Not now. Now I need your help to save Clint. Not only yours, Steve, all of the teams. I will...” he stopped and wiped his hand over his face, took a deep breath. “We talk about all this when we have Clint back.” 

“Okay, Tony.” Steve nodded. “But till we have him back you need to stay focused. And you can't do that when you're so tired that you can't sit straight. You need to take a break. And I mean now.” 

“You're not my mom, Rogers,” Tony muttered.

“No, I'm not your mother. I'm the guy who wants to help you help your lover. You're not focused, Tony. JARVIS told me that you started to make mistakes. And right now we need you focused, Clint needs you focused. You're a genius, Tony. But even geniuses need to sleep.” 

“Steve, I...” 

“Go to bed. Now!” Steve commanded and after another moment Tony finally nodded.

“Just an hour,” he said and glared at Steve.

“Just an hour,” Steve nodded. And he couldn't hold back a deep sigh when Tony left his workbench to lie down at the cot in the back of his lab. 

“Could you please leave now, Rogers? I try to sleep here.”


	8. Chapter 8

“Oh my god,” Bruce mumbled when he saw the grounds in front of them. It was a farm, well, it had been a farm many years ago. Tony and Bruce had found out about it two days ago and Fury had moved heaven and hell, had called all his contacts and finally they could use some satellites to check out the grounds. And now they were here - all of them: Steve, Tony, Bruce, Natasha, Rhodey, Thor and Kate - somewhere in the nowhere between Texas and New Mexico. It was so far off of any civilization that they didn't even bother with proper guards in the surroundings.

The former farm was in a hollow, surrounded by small hills on three sides. The farmhouse was on the left side of the hollow and in the middle was a small paddock with the stables around. Formerly the owner bred horses but now... now there were people imprisoned in the horseboxes and in the paddock was the auction platform. And the team could see not only the sellers and many prospect buyers, no, the local sheriff and his men guarded the farm grounds. Tony found out about their _additional income_ when he had researched the whole small-town. And apparently the whole town knew about their mayor's activities.

Once a month, Richard Cooper, mayor of said small-town and former horse breeder, has an auction at his farm. People from all over the country came to sell their _merchandise_ or to buy new _goods_. And in addition, Cooper himself provided for _fresh meat_ on every auction. As unbelievable as it sounded, he had hired men who traveled around the country and let people disappear. Usually people with no family or friends, people who live on the streets, people no one would miss. That's how Rice, Alvarez and Conrad had heard of Cooper and that's why they used him to let a part of their fighters disappear. 

Tony took a deep breath and Steve could feel the anger rise in him. He turned to look at him.

“You okay?” He asked and Tony shook his head. 

“No. Not yet. I'll be okay when all these bastards are in jail and I have Clint back,” he murmured and looked at Steve. “Let's do this?” 

“Yes, let's do this.” Steve said as well and the other Avengers repeated it, too. 

“Let's do this.” They all shared glances and then Steve tapped his comm unit. 

“Maria, we can start,” he said and when she confirmed and bellowed her orders to the waiting agents behind them the Avengers turned to the farm and walked down the hill. 

It took them only twenty minutes and the Avengers and SHIELD had secured the farm and arrested the sheriff, his deputies and all of the buyers and sellers and watchers and whatnot. Richard Cooper had tried to flee but it was Bruce – more than a little green around the edges – who brought him back to their _base_ on the hill. 

“Look what we have here,” he said, his voice cheerful, when he pushed the man into the quinjet. 

Cooper was in his late fifties, chubby and nearly as huge as Thor but right now he stared worriedly up at the team from his position on his knees.

Tony shared a look with Steve and when he nodded the genius made a step in Cooper's direction. He was calm, deadly calm, and Natasha folded her arms in front of her chest. Steve saw that she was nervous and _that_ fact made _him_ nervous. But he gave Tony this chance to find out about Clint. And he knew that Natasha was ready to act in case it got out of control.

Tony reached into one of the pockets of his suit where they all knew that he had a picture of Clint. 

“What can you tell me about this man?” He asked and they all saw that he had to concentrate to not lose his temper. Cooper swallowed hard and licked his lips.

“I... I don't know,” he said but when Tony snorted and opened his mouth he added quickly, “I never remember the faces of... of _them_. But I... I have documents.” 

“You have documents about your illegal slave trade?” Steve blurted out incredulously. 

“It's necessary to... to stay on top of things,” Cooper shrugged. 

“Show me,” Tony spat and glared at the man. Steve could see that he deliberated if he should resist but with all the angry expressions on the Avenger's faces he thought about it again... and decided against it. 

“Okay,” Cooper nodded hastily and tried to rise but when Thor threatened him with Mjölnir the man moved very careful. He led them to his house, to an office and he started this computer. 

“He was one of the fighters Mr. Rice, Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Conrad brought to you,” Bruce said and Cooper nodded. He typed and then he stepped back. Tony sat down at the desk and clicked a few times with the mouse. 

“Holy mother of god,” he muttered when he saw the documents and Steve stepped behind him to take a look as well. “This bastard sold twenty-seven people in the last month and this month they have thirty-eight people in their barn. Thirty-eight people, for crying out loud!” He spat and Cooper shrank down, ducked his head and tried to disappear into thin air. But when he tried to get to him Natasha stopped Tony.

“Don't, Stark. Let the cops deal with them,” she whispered and Tony shook his head. 

“Just this one, Natasha. Just five minutes,” he growled and Natasha placed her hand onto his chest and held him back. 

“No. You're better than him,” she said again and then Tony directed his gaze at her.

“Do you have an idea what they have done to Clint? They sold him like an animal, to fight against other humans, to...” he stopped for a second and glared at Cooper again. “To fight to the fuck!” Tony pointed at the computer on the desk behind himself.

“Shit!” Steve couldn't hold back and even in this situation all his team mates threw strange glances in his direction. _Captain America_ never loses his composure. But right now he was just Steve, a man whose friend was in danger.

Bruce sat down at the desk and started to type on the computer and just when Tony tried to get past Steve and Natasha he stopped him.

“Tony, here it is. I've found Clint,” Bruce said and the genius spun around. 

“Where is he?” He asked and Bruce swallowed.

“In... he's in New York.”


	9. Chapter 9

It was nearly impossible to stop Tony. As soon as he had seen the name of Clint's _owner_ he closed the faceplate of his suit and took off. Steve had tried to stop him but the genius only shook off his hand and flew away. He looked at Thor and the god nodded, let Mjölnir rotate and followed Tony.

“You should also follow him,” Maria said and pointed at one of the quinjets. Steve looked at her for a long moment but then he nodded. 

“We need a pilot,” he said and saw the other Avengers assemble behind him. Maria nodded, looked over her shoulder and yelled, “Jensen! Get over here!” before she turned back.

A tall, red-haired man came over and Maria told him that he had to fly them to New York as fast as possible. The man saluted sloppily and Maria raised her brow but with a broad grin he climbed onto the pilot's seat. 

Steve followed him and strapped himself into one of the seats in the back. He knew that Natasha would want to take the co-pilot's seat. Bruce took the seat beside him and Kate threw her quiver on one seat opposite of him while she herself flopped down in the other. 

She waited till the jet was in the air before she looked at him. 

“Do you...” she licked her lips and waited a few seconds before she continued. “Do you really think we find him?” 

Steve shared a glance with Bruce but then he nodded. 

“Yes, Kate, I do,” he said. The young woman looked at him for a second before she nodded.

“When he's back I'll leave. It's his place and...” 

“Kate,” Steve interrupted her. “Let's take it one step at a time, okay? And we need to find him first before we make any decisions.”

“I know, Cap. But... I just wanted to say,” she interrupted herself again and looked at Bruce. “It's his place. When he's back he can have it back. It's... it's his place.” 

Steve scrutinized her and then he reached over and patted her hands.

“You're a good friend, Kate,” he said and the young woman smiled. 

“Clint is always been like a brother, Steve. And when you asked me to join your team I did it because of him, to honor him. It's _his_ place.” 

“We should talk about this when he's back, _if_ he's back, _if_ he's able to be back,” Bruce said quietly and both, Steve and Kate, nodded.

“We will find him, do you listen! And he _will_ be able to be back,” Natasha turned around and glared at the three of them. “He _will_ be back.” 

They stayed quiet for the rest of the flight. But when they were close to New York they suddenly could hear Thor's voice over the comms. 

“Tony, please calm down. You are not only endangering yourself. There are other people here and...” 

“That bastard tries to flee with Clint! I need to stop him!” Tony screamed and then they could hear an explosion. Steve, Bruce and Kate stared out of the windshield over Natasha's and Agent Jensen's shoulders and they could see black smoke down in the streets, on their left. 

“There!” Bruce pointed and Jensen nodded.

“On my way,” he murmured and turned the quinjet.

“Get out! Get out, you bastard!” Tony's voice again.

“Stop that, Tony. He is unprotected! You are killing him!” Thor said.

“He deserves it!” Tony spat violently and in the back they could hear a man plea for mercy. 

“Tony, stop now!” 

The quinjet lowered down in one of the streets, much to the dismay of the drivers, who had to brake with squealing tires. But it was the only way to get to them in time. Jensen already lowered the ramp and all four Avengers jumped out as soon as possible and the moment they were on the ground Jensen pulled up the jet. Steve, his shield in his hand, ran to where he had seen Thor and Tony and a burning car and Natasha, Kate and Bruce followed him. 

Tony, suited up, had his hand fisted into the shirt of a man, kneeling on the ground, and he had raised his hand to take a swing.

“Stop, Tony!” Steve screamed.

“Don't!” Bruce yelled.

“No!” Kate gasped.

“Stark!” Natasha bellowed but that didn't stop Tony. 

It was a thin, whispered, “Tony?” that made him stop. Tony's head snapped around and Steve also looked and then he felt himself pale. Thor had his huge arms wrapped around a man, held him upright and it was this man's whispered voice that stopped the raging genius. Clint. Thin, pale, injured, still bound. 

Tony let the man slump down to the ground and opened his suit. And just a few seconds later the genius wrapped his arms around Clint, held him as close as possible and they all could hear his sobs. “Clint,” he cried. Steve stared incredulously at the scene right in front of him. Clint was alive and held on Tony for dear life. Thor glared angrily at the man on the ground when he tried to sneak away and one move with Mjölnir made him falter. Kate and Bruce went over to him and arrested him while Steve looked around the scenery. 

And then things started to happen very fast. Two men stepped onto the street, one of them with a rifle in his hand, aimed at Tony and Clint. 

“Tony!” Steve yelled and ran in his direction. Natasha had seen it as well but before any of them could do anything they heard the shot, saw the bullet enter Clint's body and leave it with a fountain of blood through Tony and both men slumped down.

“TOOONNYYY!!!!”


	10. Chapter 10

_“Well, that went well,” the older man said when he saw Captain America, Thor, Banner and Hawkeye – the other Hawkeye – spin around and run to their fallen friends. Only the Black Widow shouted with rage and turned to them. But the younger of the two men had his rifle already aimed at her and shot. She twisted her body and it was only a graze shot but it slowed her down._

_Captain America turned to them as well and grabbed his shield, readied it to throw it. He had seen him do it so often that he knew what he would do. And so he jumped behind a van and his companion jumped over a car while the shield flew over their heads._

_Only a second later he could hear steps and it was time to get away. He took the grenade he had in his pocket, pulled the pin and threw it in the Avenger's direction. He heard people yell and his companion cursed and when he looked at him he saw blood and shreds of meat on him but that didn't stop him. He grinned, looked over his shoulder and saw Captain America in the middle of dead people. But then he walked away. It wasn't difficult to disappear between the fleeing people and he had to admit he was in a good mood. His trap had worked perfectly and the moment he had acquired the ownership of Clint Barton he knew that he would get Tony Stark. And it had worked. Stark was dead, died in the arms of his long lost and presumed dead lover. How could it get better._

_Once again he grinned at his still grumbling companion, patted his shoulder._

_“I've told you we would get our revenge,” he said and the younger man glared at him but then he nodded._

_“Yeah. Finally. Took us long enough.”_

_“Stark's dead, okay? Now it's time for the next part.”_

_“The Avengers?” The younger man asked and the older chuckled._

_“Of course, Ezekiel.”_

 

 

 

 

 

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**Author's Note:**

> [asamandra on tumblr](http://asamandra.tumblr.com/)


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